Forest Eireann welcomes tobacco display ban delay in Scotland
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 2:39PM The smokers' group Forest Eireann has welcomed the announcement by the Scottish Government that the introduction of a tobacco display ban in Scotland is being delayed from 1 October 2011 until further notice due to a legal appeal by Imperial Tobacco.
John Mallon, spokesman for Forest Eireann, said:
"We welcome the announcement by the Scottish Government and hope that this marks the beginning of the end for tobacco display bans in the United Kingdom and even Ireland.
"Banning the display of tobacco in shops has done nothing to reduce smoking rates in Ireland.
"It's an act of commercial censorship designed to denormalise tobacco and stigmatise adults who choose to consume a perfectly legal product.
"The only people who have benefitted from the display ban are black marketeers and consumers who operate outside the law.
"After the election the new government must review Ireland's tobacco control strategy and revise existing policies so that they are fair for everyone, including retailers, publicans and consumers."
Further comment
John Mallon (Forest Eireann) 085 219 3245